Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or any intellectual property related to the Chuckverse.

Chapter 5

He can tell that she's awake and worse, that she's worrying. The alarm clock he bought her is mocking them from the far wall, a constant reminder that time is running out. He can feel her sigh against his chest and although he'd like to think it's in contentment, the tension in her limbs tells him it's a sigh of resignation. "Okay," Chuck pulls them up into a seated position against the headboard, "Let's hear it."

Sarah frowns lightly, "It's nothing." She doesn't want to spend their last few hours together fighting.

"Nothing? I don't think so because you see, when I fell asleep after the best sex of my life, and possibly the best sex the planet has ever seen," he catches a ghost of a smile at the fringe of her mouth, "I had the woman I love cuddling with me. And just now, I woke up with my arms wrapped around a two-by-four." He tilts her determined chin up to face him, "People don't petrify without a reason."

Sarah gives him a saucy smile, "You're wrong," she strokes Chuck's growing erection with deliberate emphasis, "Sometimes wood just happens."

He can't stop the goofy grin spreading across his face and it takes him a moment to recover, "First off, I said 'without a reason' and you're definitely giving me cause for petrifaction." It takes more self-control than Chuck knew he possessed, to ensnare her wrists and stop her ministrations. He blows out a long cleansing breathe, "And second, don't try to Morgan-maneuver me, sweetheart." Sarah's quirked eyebrow reminds him that she wasn't there for that conversation, "Morgan was using sex as a means to distract Anna from engaging him in home décor discussions."

Sarah nods, a little impressed that Morgan would be so creative, but also disheartened that Chuck obviously isn't going to let the issue drop.

"Sarah? Talk to me."

Chuck presses a light kiss to her temple and Sarah twines her fingers with his, searching for the right words to convince him. She settles for the unvarnished truth, "Chuck I'm worried that if you press Beckman, she might pull you underground and scrap the whole Intersect project. I don't want you to risk losing your life…Ellie, Awesome, Morgan…not for me." She presses her fingers to his opening mouth, cutting off the heartwarming protest she knows he's about to deliver. "Maybe we should just accept this," her eyes mist over, "I love you, but we both know that I'm not what's right for you." Sarah drops his gaze and swallows back the threatening tears, "I can never offer you a normal life." There's equal parts bitterness and wistfulness wrapped around those last two words.

Chuck smiles ruefully, "I'm an idiot you know?"

"Chuck, I've met geniuses and prodigies from all over the world and you're smarter than any one of them."

He rolls them over so that he's looking down at her and waits patiently until he's sure he has her undivided attention. "I was a mess before Bryce sent me the Intersect. I spent five years wallowing over the life I had at Stanford. I lost all direction because I was so focused on looking back, that I never even tried to look forward. If you hadn't come into my life, I don't know that I ever would have recovered…and here again, you're preventing history from repeating itself." Her brow crinkles in confusion and he can't help but kiss the bridge of her nose.

She dances her fingers quickly up the expanse of his back and shoulders, intent to distract him from the ghosts of Bryce and Jill. But Chuck is not to be dissuaded. He turns his face down in such a way that the tip of his nose runs along the flank of her own. It would be silly if it wasn't so effective at capturing her attention and parting her lips in anticipation.

"What did we just talk about?" Despite the gentle reprimand for employing diversionary tactics, Chuck allows a shallow kiss, unable to fully deny her, but determined to keep his wits about him. "Sarah?" Her eyes open, and they're that perfect shade of a misty ocean, deep blue covered in a haze of lust, but still coherent. "Sarah, today you helped me realize that ever since I became the Intersect, I've been doing the same God damn thing…I've been focusing on trying to reclaim the past, in this case, to be normal. And you're right, this," he runs his thumb from her hairline to her chin, tilting her lips up to his for a brief but passionate kiss, "this can never be normal." He can feel her shrink back from his body, retreating into the mattress and pillow, ever the agent ready to duck and cover. Chuck slides his left arm beneath her waist and quickly positions the right up along her spine so that he's cradling the base of her neck. He knows that she could easily break his hold, and the fact that she's allowing this intimate embrace despite her obvious fear, is the greatest display of trust she's ever shown him. And Chuck has no intention of betraying that trust, but he needs to know that she understands the truth of what he's said. "Do you feel this Sarah?"

She can't feel anything…she's so overpowered by being wrapped up in this man that she simply cannot concentrate on any one point of contact. In her struggle to regain her bearings she gets caught in his gaze, and there-within is a moment of clarity. Chuck isn't talking about the warmth of his body pressed against hers or the electric current that hums wherever they touch…it's nothing physical.

Does she feel this? Does she feel when he enters a room without looking? Does she feel like they're alone whenever his eyes capture hers? Does she feel crippled by the idea that she may not see him tomorrow, let alone, ever again? Does she feel a love so deep within her soul, that to ever describe it as 'normal' would be blasphemous? She whispers the affirmation with the reverence it deserves, "Yes…yes, I feel this."

Chuck smiles brilliantly, "Then promise me you'll never banish me back to normalcy?" Her beckoning smile is the only answer he gets and the only one he really needs. He dips in, savoring the taste of her mouth and devouring the resulting torrent of emotions unleashed.

Sarah slides her calves up around his hips, welcoming him home with a shudder and a moan of deep satisfaction. They take their time, luxuriating in each touch and reaction. But somewhere in the rising cacophony of sighs and pleas, she hears herself choke on a sob. The realization that she may never again have this experience, this feeling, of absolute love and safety, is nearly overpowering. Together they turn a dark corner from joy to desperation, chasing the white light of peace that only their union can create. This climax is different from the others…it reminds her of their first morning together, watching the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. It breaks upon her like a wave, tumbling over her body in a tight coil of elemental forces that crash with violent beauty, but there's an undercurrent that pulls her back, rolling her into the next set. She manages to open her eyes and watch as Chuck crests and falls, dragging her down again in his glorious wake. She could almost mistake the moisture on her cheek for the spray of the sea, but she knows that it's fallen from the angel above her. She doesn't wipe it away, nor does she suppress her own scant tears.

Chuck continues to hold her tight for a few minutes after, then steadies his voice, "I'm a pretty smart guy, Sarah." That earns him a dewy, if speculative, smile in response. "I promise you, we will find a way."

Sarah watches him closely before finally laughing in frustration, "How do you do that?" At his bewildered look, she clarifies, "How is it that you can make a cynical spy believe in the impossible?"

"If you love me, you can't be that cynical," Chuck reasons.

"I don't know how you managed that feat either." She affectionately pushes his shoulder with a mock pout.

He chuckles softly, "Just my irresistible charm, I suppose."

Sarah rests her head on his rumbling chest, determined to soak up as much of Chuck's warmth and laughter as she can before dawn.

Chuck runs his fingers through her golden hair, watching as her breathing evens out and thinking about their last exchange. How did he ever manage to get a tough-as-nails CIA agent to fall in love with him? His eyes grow heavy as he casts about his memories, searching for that defining moment and in the instant before sleep claims him, Chuck's eyes snap open in epiphany. His violent awakening has Sarah grumbling, and he turns them onto their sides, tucking her under his arm. He kisses the nape of her neck and whispers delicately in her unconscious ear, "I've got it." Chuck drifts asleep with a slight smile on his face, unafraid of tomorrow.

Author's Note: Thank you to the lovely reviewers of Chapter 4...you rock! I think the reason I had mixed feelings about that posting is because I got the idea and actually wrote this chapter first, thus making Chapter 4 feel like a bridge chapter...add in the anticipation and I don't think anything I wrote would have made me completely happy. In that respect, again my most sincere thanks to those of you who reviewed Chapter 4 and bolstered my confidence to keep writing.

So how did you like Chapter 5? I know it's a little mushy, but I wanted to explore Sarah's feeling of inadequecy about the 'normal' brush off that she got in Chuck Vs. The Break-Up. As a girl, I just don't see any woman glossing that point over, no matter how sweet or cute the guy. In any event, now our man has a plan…and so do I ;-) Stay tuned and all will be revealed (in tiny bits and pieces of course) in the next chapter.

As always, hugs to readers, kisses for reviewers!